I'm curious about your example of the south's "bringing down the system". Elaborate? While it's true that pulling good students out of a public school can tend to leave the majority flailing, the fact is that people who put their kids in private school STILL pay taxes to the public school (a double whammy for their pocketbooks as they're also paying private school tuition). (At least so far as I know.) So by pulling their kids,they're actually making it easier on the system in that they're functionally increasing the amount spent per student, right? I'm not trying to argue here, just curious and fact-seeking. :)